Turnout in Contra Costa hits 66 percent
By Lisa Vorderbrueggen
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 at 4:55 pm in 2010 election, Uncategorized.
Voters surpassed by 11 percentage points Contra Costa Registrar Steve Weir’s turnout projections for the Nov. 2 general election.
In the final vote tally certified today, Contra Costa turnout was 66 percent, for a total of 352,687 votes cast at the top of the ticket for governor. It’s the highest turnout since the 1982 gubernatorial election. (The race at the top of the ballot is usually the contest that receives the most votes. Click here for the SOS county-by-county turnout list.)
Why? The credit, or blame, depending on your perspective, most likely rests with the Democrats. The party made a successful and huge push in the final week through TV and radio ads, and on-the-the-ground use of labor unions. The larger-than-expected turnout on Election Day really helped Democrats in close contests, such as Rep. Jerry McNerney in the 11th Congressional District.
Some Contra Costa cities posted higher turnouts than others. Orinda and Lafayette top the list, while San Pablo clearly needs a push. Here’s a ranked list:
- Orinda: 78.8 percent
- Lafayette: 76.8 percent
- El Cerrito: 75.3 percent
- Moraga: 74.9 percent
- Danville: 74.1 percent
- Walnut Creek: 73.4 percent
- Clayton: 73.5 percent
- Pleasant Hill: 69.8 percent
- Martinez: 69.3 percent
- San Ramon: 67.8 percent
- Pinole: 66.8 percent
- Concord: 65.5 percent
- Brentwood: 62.9 percent
- Hercules: 59.7 percent
- Richmond: 59 percent
- Antioch: 56.6 percent
- Oakley: 54.2 percent
- Pittsburg: 53.7 percent
- San Pablo: 49.5 percent
Weir sent over some additional statistics, which you may find interesting.
Historical turnout during gubernatorial elections:
Year Turn Out Turn Out, VBM State Turn Out
- 2010 66.1%
- 2006 63.4%
- 2002 56.6%
- 1998 63.1%
- 1994 62.0%
- 1990 61.3%
- 1986 62.5%
- 1982 70.5%
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November 30th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Impressive. Boo San Pablo!
November 30th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Contra Costa, of the top 15 Counties for registration, was edged out by Santa Clara for the # one spot for turn out.
Santa Clara has had an aggressive program to sign up permanent vote-by-mail voters and this impacts turn out.
Lisa’s story dropped out VBM stats, we hit 56.6% at this election. Statewide turn out is 59.5%, not bad for a sleeper election.
November 30th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
My observation as a Clerk in a WC Precinct was a higher than normal young voter turnout boosted the overall turnout, but that’s expected in high turnout elections. A bad economy probably helped also.
November 30th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Note: Higher income cities generally have higher voter turnout.
November 30th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Here’s my five predictors for registration/voter turn out; age, income, education, home ownership, and civic involvement. This seems to work with Ralph’s observations.